Email is a fast, conven-ient way to communicate with your clients. But if you don’t follow a few basic rules, you could make some serious blunders.

“The first rule about sending emails is to make sure the people receiving them want to receive them,” says Joshua Zuchter, a business coach and personal coach in Toronto. “The people we send email to should be those who have asked or agreed to be on our lists.”

Sending email more than once to people who haven’t asked to be added to your list could qualify those emails as “spam” and violate proposed anti-spam regulations.

Once you have the go-ahead to communicate with someone by email, the next step is to address them in a polite and positive manner. If it’s a new contact or client, address them as “Mr.,” “Mrs.” or “Ms” until you are on more familiar terms with them.

Even then, a certain degree of formality is required, says Zuchter. Begin with: “Hello, John” or “Dear John” instead of just “John.”

“The challenge with email is that we can’t ‘read between the lines,’ and a lot is lost in translation,” Zuchter says. A humorous or ironic comment in an email can be misunderstood, possibly harming the relationship. “The more you can do to make your email warm and polite, the better.”

Another important rule: read over the information before you hit “send,” says Jean Kelley, director of Jean Kelley Leadership Consulting in Tulsa, Okla., and the author of Get a Job, Keep a Job.

“Watch your grammar and spelling. They should be excruciatingly perfect every time,” Kelley says. “If you are sending an important document, have someone else go over it before it goes out.”

Receiving an email carries certain obligations, too. One of the most important is to acknowledge an email from a client as soon as you receive it. “If you can’t fulfil their request right that minute,” Kelley says, “tell them you’ll get back to them.”

Kelley and Zuchter offer these tips for you to get the most from your email:

> Use The Subject Line. Pick a word or phrase that has some appeal, which helps ensure the email will be read. Filling out the subject line also makes a message easier to locate later if it’s from someone with whom you communicate frequently. If the subject changes in the course of an exchange, change the subject line accordingly.

> Distinguish Between “To”And “cc. ” Put the names and addresses of the people from whom you expect a response in the “To” field; “Cc” the people whom you expect will want to read the message only, says Kelley.

> Preserve Privacy In Mass Emails. In most email programs, all names and addresses in the “To” line and the “Cc” line will be visible to all recipients. That’s OK for a team email for which you want all team members to know who is included, Zuchter says. But if you’re sending an external group message, use the “Bcc” field, which blocks all recipients from seeing the names and email addresses of others in the group.

“If your Internet provider finds out that you are sending out mass emails showing people’s email addresses,” Zuchter says, “it can pull the plug on your service.”

> Beware “Reply All.” When responding to an email that has been sent to you as part of a group, be sure to hit “reply” rather than “reply all” — unless you want your message to go to everyone in the group. This can be particularly hazardous when your reply contains confidential or sensitive information meant only for the sender.

> Use Attachments Sparingly. Don’t send out large attachments. Instead, send a link to the information. Most people would rather not receive large files that take a long time to download, according to Kelley. If you do send an attachment, write “see attachment” in the subject line, and check with the recipient to make sure he or she was able to open it.

> Tailor Emails To The Group. Some information is of particular interest to either your A, B or C clients, Kelley says. “Sometimes there is information they must all receive, such as general announcements or a new tax regulation,” she says. Tailor email groups accordingly.

@page_break@Know When To Email And When To Talk. Says Zuchter: “If the person sitting next to you is waiting to hear back from you, why not just tell them?” A message or topic that is emotional or sensitive should be handled in person or on the phone, Kelley adds: “Don’t let email replace a good, old-fashioned conversation.” IE